Hallway Hustle
by TheManFromMars
Summary: A short drabble of Matt's thoughts during the hallway fight scene in Cut Man. Commisioned by a friend.


**Author's Notes:** For those following me because of **The Rift** , I want to assure you that I did **NOT** give up on it. Computer problems and life in general got in the way. I'm also working on two other fics at the moment: One is a pet project of mine and I'm gonna wait until all chapters are done before I start publishing it, and the other is my first collab project which I (we) will also wait for a few chapters to be done before I (we) start posting it. So, that also helped in the exterme delay of **The Rift**.

I'm still working on it though! (Even though I hit a part that, while necessary, is a little complicated and boring for me to write, which is **_also_** delaying progress) And is turning to be the longest chapter that I wrote for anything **EVER** with **14, 657 words** so far! (And I'm still only halfway through!) So, get ready for a LOT of reading once that chapter is _**finally**_ out! ( **It's been a year, goddamnit!** )

* * *

This fic was commisioned to me by my good friend AJ ( **TheEquestrianidiot 2.0** ) who's also my collab partner in that project I mentioned up there, making this my first prompted fic ever.

Now, on with the fic:

* * *

 **Hallway Hustle**

You feel weak

Strong enough

Three rooms

You hear TV, or maybe radio

Poker

The boy

Last room on the hallway

Someone's there with him

Brought him food

You hear the lock

The apple being chewed

The steps on the hallway

Wait

Wait until no one is in on the hallway

You're weak

Strong enough

Outnumbered

Strong enough

You could go straight for the boy

Rescue him

They wouldn't notice a thing

They would

They would hear him

It would put the boy in harm's way

And even if they didn't notice

They need a lesson

They need it

You need it

Retribution

You're weak

Outnumbered

Strong enough

Skilled enough

Outnumbered

Weak

Surprise is essential

Wait

You wait

The path is clear

You walk down the hall

You find the first door

You listen

Breathing

Heartbeats

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Five

One of them is conveniently in front of the door

You kick the door (figuratively)

You kick him (literally)

Surprise is over

Three of his friends rise from their seats

First guy on the left wants to go for a punch

You punch him while he's still pulling his arm back

Guy on the right grabs a gun

You punch the other two guys while getting ready to dodge the bullet from the asshole on the right

His first shot is up high

A good two feet too high

Hasty and panicky

Cowardly like you'd expect someone who kidnaps children to be

He shoots once or twice more before you decide to throw him against the door

Finally, a little bit of air coming in!

That damn microwave stench was driving you crazy

You hate microwaves

The stink of a single heated meal lasts all day, which is particularly displeasing for someone with a sensitive sense of smell such as you

You hear someone grabbing a shotgun

You hear the door form the other room opening and footsteps coming your way

You hear the first guy about to arrive in the doorway

How to get rid of two inconveniences in a single move:

Two birds

One microwave

Another guy, the one with the shotgun, approaches

Throw another guy at him

Too early

Miss

Doesn't matter

Grab his shotgun

Hit him with it

Two other guys enter the hallway

One of them shoots at you

Low your head

The bullet hits the barrel of the shotgun

You feel it vibrate in your hands like a little earthquake on your skin

The sound of the bullet ricocheting rings in your ears

A downside of acute senses (like that damn microwave smell)

You recall Stick's training

Concentrate

Filter

Ignore

All in the fraction of a second as you knee the first guy, disarms the second, and hit the third one using the shotgun as a bat

Still holding the second guy, you flip him over your shoulder, and kick the first guy who was beginning to stand up

Third guy stood up

You grab his hand before he can fire hi…

He fired his gun

Another shot

Another damn ringing in your ears

Ignore

Filter

Concentrate

Guy's still struggling with you

Someone on the other end of the hallway is standing up

Throw the shotgun at him

Throw the asshole you were wrestling with on the floor

Knock him out with the butt of his own gun

Well, you meant to knock him out, but he's still conscious

Weak and dizzy, but still conscious

You're weak and dizzy

But still conscious

They're all standing up

You're still on the floor

Weak

Tired

Drained

Still conscious

Still willing

Strong enough

Get up

GET UP

They are already up while you're still leaning on the wall for support

You're too weak

Can't fight

Yes, I can

Yes, I must

You still have the gun on your hand

Loaded

They only have their fists

This could be easy

Even for a blind man

 _Thou shalt not kill_

You dodge the first attack and use the gun like a truncheon, attacking your assailants one by one

On the back of the head

On the abdomen

On the throat

On the face

Stubborn assholes (like you) try to stand up again

You throw the pistol at one of them to discourage him before he gets his balance

Some would say that guns are not meant to be thrown

You could say the same about hammers and shields

Feeling exhausted again

About to be attacked again

You're really getting pissed off

Can't these bastards stay down?!

(They're probably thinking the same about you)

You angrily punch the guy in the face until he falls back in the room

You stop to catch your breath

Someone is readying himself to jump the broken door and pounce on you

You kick him while he's still midair

You're not sure if you can keep going

Yes, I can

Someone attacking you from upfront

Someone trying to take you from behind

Trying to

Asshole upfront keeps coming with sloppy punches

Dodge him in time to take care of the jackass who just burst out of the other room

A knee to the face should keep him down

Kick the wall in front of you to gain momentum to finally knock that sloppy punching dumbass out

That was… pathetic

Well, it worked

And you're tired

Very tired

And dizzy

They keep coming

How many of these assholes are there?

You knock out one

You get flanked by two

From then on, everything is like a blur

You remember punching and being punched

Being thrown against the walls

Being tackled

You feel like you're fighting on autopilot

You barely register one trying to kick you

Grab his leg

Trip him

Knock him out

Just in time to hear the last one (finally!) reaching for his gun

You do a somersault and punch him

Bad idea

That probably hurt you more than him

You both struggle to get up

You're tired

You're tired in all possible senses

You just want to finish this

You grab him and you punch him

And you punch him

And you punch him

And you punch him

And you punch him

And you punch him

And you punch him

Until you both fall down

It's over

The floor is feeling really comfortable right now

You're tempted to stay down

It's not over

We're Murdocks

We get hit a lot

But we get up

You get up

You lean at the door

You hear the boy's heartbeat

He's scared

You take off your mask

You enter the room


End file.
